A Premier League meeting is set for Friday, with all 20 clubs due to join via video call.
The expectation is that the return of top-flight English football will be pushed back from 30 April to a later date.
The Independent has been told that figures at some clubs now want more clarity on when they return, both due to financial pressures and so football staff can start physically preparing players. Some will push for harder dates at Friday’s meeting, amid a growing mood of agitation within the game right now. Follow the latest updates below.
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Here’s our Sport Feature Writer, Vithushan Ehantharajah, on this weekend’s cancelled Premier League tie between champions Manchester City and champions-elect Liverpool:
Meanwhile, a European plan is being formed to resume football around July and August, with domestic leagues told on Thursday not to abandon competitions yet due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The aspiration was outlined in a letter that was signed by Uefa, the European Club Association and European Leagues body.
“Closely following the development of the current situation, the calendar working group will indicate as soon as possible, and ideally by mid-May, which of the plans can be enacted for the completion of the season without leaving anyone behind,” the letter read.
The hope is that the clubs can come together to make a decision on player wages by this evening, by which time some form of PFA announcement is expected.
The general mood in the Premier League – and the instruction from on high – is that no club should strike out alone on the player wages issue, and that all should wait for the 20 clubs to do it together.
Many players are similarly frustrated that they could be made to feel the pressure for decisions that club hierarchies have made. It has already been an issue at Spurs.
Sources close to the players’ body insist the matter of player wages is a delicate labour rights issue, which needs to be sorted correctly.
A blanket wage cut is not the same for a recent academy graduate, for example, as it is for a team star. There is similarly an awareness that they are often dealing with clubs worth hundreds of millions, owned by billionaires, so are intent on standing their ground.
Some connected to discussions have privately expressed frustration at the length of time the PFA are taking over player wages, and there is a feeling that certain figures involved “don’t get it”.
Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville has since had some stern words for Hancock…
During the UK’s daily coronavirus briefing on Thursday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock joined the criticism of Premier League players for not taking pay cuts to protect non-playing staff.
“Given the sacrifices people are making, including some of my colleagues in the NHS, who have made the ultimate sacrifice and gone into work and caught the disease and have sadly died, I think the first thing Premier League footballers can do is make a contribution; take a pay cut and play their part,” Hancock said.
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The Premier League and EFL have been in talks with the PFA over the last three days about player wages, as they attempt to come up with some sort of collective solution that works for everybody.
Many within football are acutely aware a PR battle is being lost on this, especially as they become a target for politicians. On the other side, however, many players have indicated they are willing to take a cut to help staff at their clubs.
The majority of clubs – as many as 16, at last count – are insistent the 2019/20 season should finish, no matter when that is.
The feeling before the meeting is that there will be a move to have this position hardened today, and kill the idea of voiding the campaign for good.
The Independent understands that the tentative plan is try and get some form of football back by June, and it is acknowledged that probably won’t be possible without wide-scale testing.
Certain figures want more clarity due to the possibility of broadcast contracts being broken, and the prospect of the Premier League collectively losing £1.2 billion.
There is a feeling among a core of Premier League figures that pushing for hard dates is both unrealistic and totally inappropriate at this time, especially as the next two weeks are expected to be the peak of the United Kingdom’s coronavirus crisis.
Many clubs feel that the Premier League should stick to the current approach, which is to wait and see how things develop for the next few weeks, and then make more solid decisions.
The unease is even visible in WhatsApp groups that feature people involved in the decision-making, The Independent understands.
Another senior Premier League figure told The Independent that one group more than 100 contributors and it was hard to keep a sense of perspective with worried messages flying around all day.
A further issue is that recently installed CEO Richard Masters is currently on compassionate leave, meaning “there aren’t as many people to calm everyone down”, a Premier League source told The Independent.
It seems there is a growing mood of agitation at the moment.
“Some of our lot aren’t the calmest at the best of times,” one high-level Premier League source told The Independent.
One of the more radical solutions to finishing the season was suggested this week…
Recent video conferences have merely seen the Premier League season postponed twice, until 30 April, in what have effectively been time-buying moves as they seek to figure out how to complete the season.
It is possible that another postponement of fixtures is coming today, with 30 April seeming too soon for the resumption of the English top flight.
However, with clubs seeking more clarity than that, perhaps a stronger move will be made.
Tottenham cut the wages of all 550 non-playing staff at the club this week, placing others on furlough “where appropriate”.
First-team players are still being paid in full, however, leading to criticism of the north London side from many fans and pundits.
Even former Spurs coach Harry Redknapp came down hard on his old club:
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On Thursday, Belgium’s top league cancelled the remainder of their season, with Club Brugge awarded the title.
Brugge had a 15-point lead ahead of the season-ending play-offs. Decisions are yet to be made about relegation places and European spots.
Now, the Dutch top-flight is also facing pressure from teams, who want the campaign to be scrapped.
